Jacques Deval Movies

A woman stands to inherit a fortune if she can get all her brothers and sisters in one place...which is far more complicated than it might sound. When the Tatlocks, a very wealthy couple, suddenly and unexpectedly die, the executor of the estate informs Nan Tatlock (Wanda Hendrix) that their will stipulates that all members of the immediate family must be present at the reading in order for it to be valid. Nan immediately smells trouble, as the Tatlocks are a notoriously eccentric group of people, and as the sole "normal" member of the family, she's generally the only one who can be counted upon to arrive on schedule. As it turns out, Nan's greatest problem is rounding up her brother Skylar, who is so dizzy that he requires a full-time caregiver, Denno (Barry Fitzgerald). However, Skylar got away from Denno during a trip to Hawaii, and no one is sure where he is -- or even if he's still alive. When Nan learns that she could inherit several million dollars if she can bring her relatives together, and Skylar stubbornly refuses to materialize, the caretaker hires Burke (John Lund), a Hollywood stuntman who bears a striking resemblance to the missing man, to pose as Skylar at the reading of the will. Miss Tatlock's Millions was the first film directed by veteran British comic actor Richard Haydn, who appears in a small role under the pseudonym "Richard Rancyd." Ray Milland and noted director Mitchell Leisen also make cameo appearances. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

No one will ever know what possessed MGM's reigning screen queen Norma Shearer to select the tired old stage farce Her Cardboard Lover as her final film. Set in Florida, the creaky plotline finds Consuelo Croyden (Shearer) attempting to make her disinterested sweetheart Tony Barling (George Sanders) jealous. To this end, Consuelo orders her personal secretary, Terry Trindale (Robert Taylor) to pretend to be her lover. This suits Terry fine, since he's always been crazy about Consuelo. And on and on it goes, with the three stars trying to make this wearisome old yarn worth watching. Of the three film versions of Her Cardboard Lover, this one isn't anywhere near as entertaining as the 1932 Buster Keaton vehicle The Passionate Plumber (which was no great shakes itself!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this romantic musical, a Russian prince sees a lovely singer in a town cafe and falls head-over-heels. Realizing that he cannot be seen with her in royal garb, he masquerades as a worker. Later he secretly arranges for her to sing at the Imperial Opera. Unfortunately, his father the emperor is wounded that night by the wicked Reds. The girl's father is among the would-be assassins. Years pass. Just before the dawn of WWII, the girl and her family are exiled to Siberia while the former prince heads for Paris to become a famous nightcub singer. When revolution erupts in Russia, the girl is freed and the lovers are eventually reunited. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Cafe Metropole stars Tyrone Power as an international playboy with a habit of writing rubber checks. Heavily in debt to cafe owner Adolphe Menjou, Power agrees to pose as a Russian nobleman and woo heiress Loretta Young, so that Menjou can get his mitts on the girl's money. Avarice gives way to love, but not before Young walks out on Power when she catches on to his original selfish intentions. The script for Cafe Metropole was written by actor/director Gregory Ratoff, who also plays a supporting role. The film's first biggest laughs are reserved for the first scene, in which mild-mannered Christian Rub attempts to collect on one of Power's debts by clumsily wielding a loaded revolver. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Club de Femmes (Girl's Club) of the title refers to a Parisian boarding house, populated in its entirety by beautiful, unwed damsels. The rules of the club are quite strict, with chaperones making certain that the ladies keep a safe and respectable distance between themselves and their gentleman callers. But the mischievous Claire (Danielle Darrieux) is determined to enjoy a rendezvous with her sweetheart Robert (Raymond Gall), and to that end she talks him into disguising himself as a woman. Things look bleak for Claire when she becomes pregnant, but things turn out OK when she gives birth to a girl, thereby upholding the club's "No Males Allowed" edict. Featured in the cast is a young newcomer named Else Argell, who by an incredible coincidence was the wife of director Jacques Deval. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A Hollywood version of Jacques Deval's 1933 French drama Un Vie Perdue, Journal of a Crime stars Ruth Chatterton as Françoise Moliet, a proud Parisian who refuses to divorce her playwright husband Paul (Adolphe Menjou), even though he is rather publicly dallying with the star of his latest success, Odette (Claire Dodd). Françoise instead sneaks into the girl's dressing room and kills her, a crime for which gangster Costelli (Noel Madison) confesses. Having already one murder on his conscience, Costelli gallantly covers for the much-suffering Françoise, but she, in turn, is overcome with guilt and decides to turn herself in. En route to the police station, however, Françoise is struck by a car and loses her memory. Realizing that his wife has regained her lost innocence, Paul purchases a secluded villa by the sea where Françoise may recuperate. Costelli, meanwhile, is lead to the guillotine. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

Previously filmed with Marion Davies in 1928, Jacques Deval's warhorse stage property Her Cardboard Lover was revamped four years later as the Buster Keaton vehicle The Passionate Plumber. The Great Stone Face stars as Elmer Tuttle, a Parisian plumber who is hired by dizzy heroine Patricia Alden (Irene Purcell) to make her sweetheart Tony Lagorce (Gilbert Roland) jealous. With the help of Patricia's chauffeur McCracken (Jimmy Durante) and her maid Albine (Polly Moran), the feckless Elmer is transformed into a Great Romeo, doing his job so well that the hot-headed Tony challenges him to a duel. This material was not ideally suited for Buster Keaton, nor was it a particularly brilliant strategy to team the solemn comedian with the bombastic Jimmy Durante. Still, a few hilarious moments shine through, especially during the climactic duel sequence. The Passionate Plumber was remade under the original title Her Cardboard Lover with Norma Shearer in 1942, while Keaton himself distilled the story -- and the best gags -- into his 1941 Columbia two-reeler She's Oil Mine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide